Education Sector of Pakistan: Next Victim of Terrorism and Extremism in a Globalized Environment

Abstract

Globalization has affected the education sector of Pakistan differently because of its peculiar and diversed security challenges. An extremely cunning hostile enemy on east who always stages all kind of clandestine operations against Pakistan. On the western border, Afghanistan has always remained a source of instability for Pakistan. US policy failures in Afghanistan and do more demand by Trump administration from Pakistan without acknowledging its sacrifices are a matter of concern. To retain their national interests transition-co forces are using fifth generation asymmetric warfare in this region. Almost all the segments of our society got affected by worst kind of terrorism and extremism in last fifteen years and the current target is our youth and educational institutes. According to the recent National Human Development Report published in May 2018, Pakistan has the largest percentage of youth ever recorded in its history. 64 percent of the total population is below the age of 30 while 29 percent is between the ages of 15 and 29 years. This youth buldge has critical implications for Pakistan because if not groomed and directed in right direction, will create internal implosion. Our enemy precisely identified our centers of gravity and attacking it with numerous means. Be it the Safora Ghot Karachi massacre of forty three innocent unarmed people by Saad Aziz - an Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi graduate or the inhuman killing of human rights activist Sabeen Mahmood by the same man; the IS-indoctrinated and affiliated medical student Noreen Leghari’s case or the recent failed attempt on the MQM leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan by a Karachi University graduate, the incessant reality for Pakistani anti-terrorism strategists is that the extremists and terrorists have succeeded in infiltrating modern education institutions and the youth is being indoctrinated with the toxic ideology of the terrorists. With the defeat of the IS in Syria and Iraq the influx of militants to Pakistan could continue that could further complicate the situation.